Dear Island Neighbors,

Lots o’ stuff in the next couple of weeks, so let’s get right to it!

 Can You Believe It's the 70th Annual Fish Fry??!!

This great event is one of the longest continuously running events on the East Coast. It will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 22 at (surprise) the Fish Fry Shack, AKA the “Big Tin” (Hennessy Street at Station 15, next to the Island Club)..

What a deal! The fried fish platter is still only $5/plate. (I wonder what it was 69 years ago?) Other highlights include a jump castle, music by Fowler’s Moustache and refreshments available for purchase.

This is a great way to spend a Lowcountry summer evening with your friends and neighbors, or to have a family reunion where you can get out of cooking at least one meal.

The most important part of this event is that proceeds go to the SI Volunteer Fire & Rescue Squad. This wonderful group of volunteers provides critical support for our and our visitors’ safety throughout the year and respond to all the emergencies that occur much more frequently than you suspect: fires, medical emergencies, beach injuries, beach and other water rescues, etc. If it were not for this group of community-spirited folks (most of whom don’t even live here) we and our visitors would be much less safe. Most of the equipment you see the Fire and Rescue Squad use is bought with funds they raise from events like this.

You can buy tickets in advance at the Fire Station, Town Hall, Simmons Seafood on IOP, Sea Island Shopping Center Harris Teeter, or at the door on event-day. And as always, for those of you familiar with my day job, I hereby decree that all these fish dinners are calorie-free!

Who Better Than Us to Celebrate Carolina Day?

 Suppose the Jeopardy clue is: “It celebrates the reason for the South Carolina flag and for the Palmetto tree as the SC symbol, and commemorates the first major victory in the American Revolution over the British Navy, on June 28, 1776 on Sullivan’s Island.”

OK, that would take up the whole board, and it no doubt would have tripped up that Vegas dude’s timing with the buzzer. But here’s the correct response: “What is Carolina Day?”

In 1776, it was the “Battle of Sullivan’s Island.” Now it’s Carolina Day. We have two observances of this important battle this year, on the actual anniversary of the battle (Friday, June 28) and the next day (Saturday, June 29).

First, at 9 a.m. on Friday, June 28 a brief ceremony will take place on the plaza in front of Town Hall and the fire station. The Battery Gadsden Cultural Center group will present to the town a large, historically accurate reproduction of the “Moultrie” flag that, during the battle, flew over the palmetto log fort on the site of the current Fort Moultrie. The flag will be flown from the town’s flagpole for the entire day. A new wayside sign will be unveiled that will sit adjacent to the plaza area and will tell the heroic story of Sgt. William Jasper, who during the battle retrieved the fallen flag outside the fort, at great personal risk, and planted it in the fort’s rampart. The sign will join the monument to Sgt. Jasper that was recently moved from the old Town Hall to the current one, thanks to the leadership of Councilmember Mark Howard.

The next day, Saturday, June 29 enjoy the commemoration of this important battle at its site (Ft. Moultrie) by our Fort Moultrie National Park Service folks and the 2nd South Carolina Regiment.  Artillery demonstrations by the re-enactors will take place at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. At 1 p.m., children are welcome to join in a musket drill, which will be presented by park volunteers and staff. Admission to the Fort is free on this special day.

Independence Day Events!

Our Independence Day events get better every year! As usual, bring your decorated (or not) golf cart or bike to the school starting at 8:30 a.m. to line up for the annual golf cart and bike parade. It will start from there at 9 a.m. and proceed to the Fish Fry Shack (remember that?) at Station 15 and Hennessey.

Once there, there will be awards for the best golf cart and bicycle decorations, treats for the kids and adults, and some water fun!

What if it rains, you might ask? We learned the answer to that last year, when a long string of perfect-weather parades ended: If it rains, we get wet and cool off! Next question?

Later in the day, join us at the Marshall Stith Park next to Town Hall for our annual Independence Day musical and fireworks celebration, starting at 6 p.m.

There’ll be classic rock and beach music for shagging by Permanent Vacation. Bring your picnic basket and a blanket. But please leave the adult beverages and pets at home; we can’t handle all that in the park. Around 9 p.m. we will have great fireworks by Munnerlyn Pyrotechnics to end the celebration with a real bang.

See you around the Island!

Pat O’Neil, Mayor
843-670-9266
 | oneilp@sullivansisland-sc.com
 |  @oneilpm1